WILLIAM CARRUTUEKS 255 



1875 he was President of the Geologists' Association and in 1901 of 

 the lloyal Microscopical Society ; in that capacity he delivered 

 before the latter body in 1901 an address on John Ellis (1710-76) 

 and in 1902 one on Neliemiah Grew (1611-1712) and his 'Anatomy,' 

 taking occasion to demonstrate the attem])ts that had been made to 

 depreciate the work of Grew and to rob him of the credit that 

 belongs to him as an original investigator — these addresses were 

 printed in the Journal of the Society : he was also an Honorary 

 Member of numerous local societies both at home and abroad. In 

 1881 Carruthers attended the meeting of the British Association at 

 Montreal; on this occasion he also visited Mexico and the United 

 States, and brought back specimens for the British Museum Her- 

 barium. 



Both as a speaker and as a lecturer Carruthers was effective. 

 Gifted with a good presence and a strong but pleasant voice, he 

 had the power of clear statement, wliich is more important than 

 eloquence, and always succeeded in interesting his audience ; he was 

 also an excellent chairman. 



An account of Carruthers's undertakings would be incomplete 

 did it contain no reference to his important work in connexion with 

 the lloj^al Agricultural Society, to which in 1871 he was appointed 

 Consulting Botanist — a post he held Avith complete satisfaction 

 until his retirement in 1909. Of his work in that capacity we have 

 a modest summary from his own pen in the Journal of the Society 

 for the latter year, preceded by an introduction by Mr. Charles 

 Coltman llogers, Chairman of the Botanical and Zoological Com- 

 mittee, in which the highest a2)preciation is expressed of Carruthers's 

 services, and accompanied by an excellent portrait. To the Journal 

 he contributed many papers of practical intei'est, of which tliat on 

 Ergot, reproduced in this Journal for 1875 (p. 15) is one of the 

 most noteworthy: and at his suggestion the Societj' published in 

 1892 an admirable set of eight coloured diagrams of the life-history 

 of the Wheat plant, reproduced from Francis Bauer's original di-aw- 

 ings in the Department of Botany, for whicii he supplied the text. 

 The Times, summing up this branch of Carruthers's work, says : 

 " In economic botany he was in a sense father of the great institute 

 at Cambridge. When he began seed testing on a very small scale in 

 his own house in 1871 it was a new thing in England. Under his 

 hand it grew during fort^^ years to \QYy large proportions, and he 

 added to it the investigation of j^lant disease. But possibly his 

 chief work there was in the selection of grass for pasture and the 

 guaranteed purity and germination of grass seeds. He also conducted 

 what will always remain a classical series of observations on the 

 vitality of farm seeds." 



On May 29, 1895, Carruthers's long connexion witli the Depart- 

 ment automatically^ ceased, he having reached the age limit allowed 

 by the rules of the Civil Service. The Trustees of the Museum had 

 recommended the retention of his services for a further period, 

 but the Treasury declined to accept their recommendation. For 

 some time he continued to visit the Department ; as has been 

 alread}" shown, he maintained his relations with the Linnean Society 



